Booking Newborn Sessions

9 years 2 months ago #423206 by babsiegirl
Hi, calling to the newborn photographers out there. I have a question. How do you go about booking a newborn session? Obviously we cannot predict when the baby is going to be born and we want to make sure that we capture the little ones in first couple of weeks of their lives so what kind of window do you allow for one session without double booking? ie baby is due on 1st Feb so would you hold say 2-3 days window in your diary say around 7th Feb? This may be a daft question, I am attending a newborn workshop soon and I will ask the question there but I was wonderring if anybody could give me some tips here. Thanks :) x


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9 years 2 months ago #423215 by garyrhook
I strongly recommend Ana Brandt's Newborn and Maternity class on CreativeLive. Full of excellent information covering all sorts of facets:

www.creativelive.com/courses/art-pregnan...otography-ana-brandt

I heartily recommend CreativeLive for all kinds of stuff.

That said, the sweet spot is from 10 - 14 days old. Still small, vernix is mostly gone, sleeping a lot, pretty manageable. You just arrange with the parents to let you know when the birth occurs, and you choose a day then. That window is pretty wide, which helps.

Just did one today. Not that I'm any good, but babies are fun.


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9 years 2 months ago #423235 by Robert Chen
As Gary pointed out between 10-14 to even up towards 20 days you'll find is the best time and usually when many new parents want to capture the new pride and joy in photos.  

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9 years 2 months ago #423423 by icepics
Seems like most photographers get the contract signed etc. ahead of time and then have the family contact them after the baby's born whenever they're ready to schedule a session.

My background is in infant and toddler development having worked as an early intervention specialist. Baby photography videos don't necessarily seem to always be using poses that are appropriate positions for newborn infants. If a pose/position isn't something that would probably be recommended by a medical/healthcare professional (for example to a first time parent) then it probably shouldn't be used.

Instead of the baby photography videos that are out there, I'd suggest finding information geared to parents of newborn infants that are done by medical or educational websites so you can make sure anything you do is consistent with best practice in infant care.

If you use blankets they should be loose around the baby's legs to allow movement. This shows proper swaddling techniques, and you could find other similar videos online about proper swaddling.
http://hipdysplasia.org/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip/hip-healthy-swaddling/  

I'd recommend having parents participate in and/or observe the session, and consider having them hold/position the baby while you take the photos. Parents should be able to see anything you're doing with their child. They know their baby best and it's appropriate to consider their suggestions about what the baby likes, etc.; if they don't want a particular pose done, that's up to them and I don't think a photographer should insist they do something they aren't comfortable with. If they suggest something they've seen online that may look good in a picture but may not be consistent with age appropriate guidelines, I'd show what you can do instead to get the type of look they want in a different way while using proper newborn positioning (head and neck supported and aligned, etc.).

Sharon
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9 years 2 months ago #423508 by garyrhook
$0.02 more.

In general, babies prefer being wrapped up like burritos. Which is to say, snugly. At least, every newborn I've ever dealt with.

I can't imagine doing a newborn session without one or both parents present. You have to leave time for cuddling, feeding, changing, etc. Schedule 3-4 hours in case the infant decides to be difficult part-way through.

Many of the odd or surprising poses are a resulting of editing images to remove the hands that support the baby. 


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9 years 2 months ago #423581 by icepics
I agree babies like snuggling and it can be wonderful to comfort a baby and for a parent to connect to their child, although I haven't known families that used swaddling as such, or wrapping like what's in some baby photography. I've seen some where the legs seem to be getting wrapped way too tight.

There are photos where an adult's hand or fingers have been photoshopped out, but some of the poses still seem inappropriate to use. I've seen some that I don't think anyone who's ever worked with babies would use to position a newborn. I can't see a good reason to use it for a photo.

You just don't want to take a chance of compromising a baby's airway. Til a baby can hold up the head he/she may not be able to breathe well if the chin is on the chest, or if the head is flopped to one side (which could be problematic if a baby is put down in a box or bucket etc. - that shouldn't be done with a baby that can't yet hold up his/her head). And if they can't breathe well they can't cry or make a sound to indicate they're in distress.

I know people do long photo sessions but I'd recommend keeping it to a reasonable amount of time (figure out how to reschedule as needed). If someone can't get photos fairly efficiently maybe this isn't for them. Having done assessments, it take planning ahead what you're going to do and having what you'll need (toys etc.) ready to get out and use fairly quickly while the baby is awake (and of course you can take photos while the baby is sleeping too).

Sharon
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9 years 2 months ago #423628 by garyrhook
:agree:


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9 years 1 month ago #427623 by Joslyn

icepics wrote: I agree babies like snuggling and it can be wonderful to comfort a baby and for a parent to connect to their child, although I haven't known families that used swaddling as such, or wrapping like what's in some baby photography. I've seen some where the legs seem to be getting wrapped way too tight.

There are photos where an adult's hand or fingers have been photoshopped out, but some of the poses still seem inappropriate to use. I've seen some that I don't think anyone who's ever worked with babies would use to position a newborn. I can't see a good reason to use it for a photo.

You just don't want to take a chance of compromising a baby's airway. Til a baby can hold up the head he/she may not be able to breathe well if the chin is on the chest, or if the head is flopped to one side (which could be problematic if a baby is put down in a box or bucket etc. - that shouldn't be done with a baby that can't yet hold up his/her head). And if they can't breathe well they can't cry or make a sound to indicate they're in distress.

I know people do long photo sessions but I'd recommend keeping it to a reasonable amount of time (figure out how to reschedule as needed). If someone can't get photos fairly efficiently maybe this isn't for them. Having done assessments, it take planning ahead what you're going to do and having what you'll need (toys etc.) ready to get out and use fairly quickly while the baby is awake (and of course you can take photos while the baby is sleeping too).



Good post 


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